My cat of nearly 20 years had to be put down tonight.

[Jeremy]

We got Rocky back in '88 at the local pound. A fairly young couple also wanted him, but their apartment complex didn't allow pets, so we got him. Little did we think that he'd still be around 18 years later. He was fully grown then, and the concensous at the vet's office was that he was probably 22-25 years old.

A few months after getting him, he ran through a screen door leading to our backyard and we thought for sure he was gone. Then in '93, hurricanes hit VA and we came home early from our vacation to find him with a giant, open red sore on one leg. We took him to the vet and were told that if we hadn't come back early, he'd have lost a leg. '01 was his next health scare, when he had an infection in his back. We expected to find him dead somewhere in the house, or worse, on the street. After that, he was fine up until a few weeks ago when he started jumping up on the sinks and drinking water out of the spigot. He was a little scrawnier than usual, but still moved around a lot so we didn't think much of it.

Then the other day, he started to get really secretive and hide around the house. I did some research and thought that it might've been his incredibly strong flea collar making him sick. At about 1:25 AM EST, we found out that wasn't the case - his kidneys were about 85% gone, the condition was irreversible, and he had maybe two weeks to "live". After the most frantic minute I've experience, I finally said the words I never wanted to say in my life and agreed that Rocky should be put to sleep as soon as possible.

At around 1:30, we said our goodbyes to Rocky, told him we loved him, that we'd never forget him, and let the doctor administer the first shot. That floored him. His legs gave way without hesitation, but he was still breathing, so we decided to pet him, and as the last shot was given, he passed away purring loudly like he did all the time for much of his life, while the two people who loved him more than anyone else petted him into heaven. He died in the most painless manner possible, and I said a few days ago that if any creature on the face of the Earth deserved a painless death, it was him. The doctor noted that he was a beatiful cat, since he'd retained a youthful appearance even until the end.

He lived many years longer than anyone ever expected, since he was an indoor/outdoor cat for his whole life (up until two nights ago), and had very few health crises considering that. Despite being neutered, he was able to raise our third cat, Gracie's daughter Spud as if she was his own. The last cat he was with was Spud, and was on my bed bathing and coddling her as if she was a newborn - just as he'd always done her entire life. I'll never know exactly when his life began, but it ended on November 15, 2006 at around 1:30 AM - roughly two weeks before I was set to be born in '83, and about 10 days from when my grandmother died in '92. I'll always remember Rocky no matter what happens in my life; he gave everything he could to everyone he loved, but his body just couldn't keep going.

Here he is sleeping, and looking as peaceful as was when he passed on -

Wrapped up in a blanket a few years ago -

Sleeping next to Gracie a few years ago -


Another shot of them together, with her babying him -


Here he is with his pride and joy, his adopted baby girl, Spud -

[arjue]

Argh, thats rough man. You have my condolences.

My dog of 12ish years died recently, sucks balls.

[Finch]

That's so sad. I'm sorry.

It's crazy that he came back after nearly five years.

[Korian]

Jeremy sorry for your loss man, I've cried harder for pets
that have passed than real people, not saying animals are
more important but they show that unconditional love. My
cats got cremated so they are always with me. Again I know
how ya feel.

[Grave]

Sorry to hear it, man. Losing a pet is always horrible, but you grow up alongside one, it makes it that much harder. It never makes it any better, but at least you got to be there with him and make sure he got to be comfortable with his people right before the end.

[AstroBlue]

Yeah dude, condolences.

22-25 years is SO old for a cat, he had a long and I'm sure good life.

[James]

20+ years? Wow, that's the oldest cat I think I've heard of.

I grew up in a cat-oriented household, and know very well what it's like to lose one. I'd be a wreck if I lost my fuzzy little bastard, who helped keep me sane when I moved to CA and back again. You've got my strongest sympathies for the loss of your Methuselah-kitty.

James

[Compass]

At around 1:30, we said our goodbyes to Rocky, told him we loved him, that we'd never forget him, and let the doctor administer the first shot. That floored him. His legs gave way without hesitation, but he was still breathing, so we decided to pet him, and as the last shot was given, he passed away purring loudly like he did all the time for much of his life, while the two people who loved him more than anyone else petted him into heaven.

Sad stuff. At least he died with some dignity and you guys were able to be with him through the end. Post pics soon.

[Jeremy]

The pics are now up. We're having him cremated, and will probably get his ashes on Tuesday. He used to love being wrapped in a baby blanket of mine, so we'll probably rest it on top of it if we can find it. My mother asked if she thinks the other cats know, and I told her that they do because he sent them a text message. She's more broken up about it than I am right now, although we've been taking turns at that since this happened. I was able to spend a lot of time with him over the past few years, and I'm thankful for every minute of it now - good and bad.

She's worried if he hates us for putting him down, and I told her that he lived a long, LONG life, and we ended his suffering as soon as we could possible could. Plus, he'd now be reunited with his mother, father, and probably many siblings, and that he'd always be in our hearts and memories. We fell in love with him from the moment we saw him, and despite his kidney failure, he was still jumping around like a spry cat many years his junior even tonight.

After putting him down, the receptionist at the vet's office said that she'd had to put three of her cats down quickly, with one being 23, and that it's never easy to deal with losing one. I look back at his life and think of all the other cats he's outlived. We've had as many as six, with him being the first, and a few dogs, and of those, he outasted every dog and all but two of the cats. He got along with all of the dogs, and even made a cat lover out of my then-stepfather who couldn't stand them. When I was going through my sight scare four years ago, he sensed something was wrong and never left my side. When my mother went through breast cancer two 1/2 years ago, he did the same. Tonight, we never left his side as he left his physical body, which by that point was just a five pound shell.

By the end, the tiny cat Spud, whose growth has been stunted since she was just a few months old, was bigger than him. In a way, it was him passing his legacy onto her, and in another, it was a sad goodbye to a creature who gave so much and just asked for a can of food in return. We'd been joking for the past few months that we were going out to buy him his last can, never imagining that day would come. But it did, and he never ate a single can of the new batch of food we bought him on Saturday.

I doubt we'll ever get another cat, but I kind of hope we do, and I want it to be from an animal shelter. We got nearly 20 years out of a cat who could have easily been dead in a week there - what more could we ask for?

Thanks for the condolences, they mean a lot right now. Arjue, sorry to hear about your dog, did he at least go in peace?

[SpoDaddy]

I'm really sorry Jeremy, you obviously love him a great deal. My g/f works for a vet and sees animals get put to sleep every day, I don't know how she can handle it. I've had some health scares recently with my dog, if I ever lose him it will devastate me.